This past Wednesday night was a great opportunity to put faith into action. 25 people stopped, rolled up their sleeves and stepped up to serve. TOTAL ministries in Spartanburg is an awesome benevolence ministry that Morningside supports and this week some of our teenagers went over to help. They learned about the ministry of TOTAL and they sorted food and clothing. Canned goods were flying everywhere. The students had a great time with one another and at the same time made a small impact on the hungry and needy of our community. They were the hands and feet of Jesus. Students, keep loving others and sharing Jesus – you guys rock! By the way…Panama City Beach Retreat is just 17 days away and counting!

This past year has been amazing! God has so richly blessed my family and I. Just a year ago we felt God leading us to make the move to Spartanburg to join the work He was doing at Morningside Baptist Church. Ashley was pregnant with Ellis and we had no home. But God was in control and had everything in place. We sold our house in two days, packed up and moved. we left on a Friday and had not where to move to. We were “homeless.” On Sunday we moved in with Bebop and Nana (Kirk and Ruth Neely) for seven amazing weeks. Little did we know then how much those two people would mean to us today. So, we found a house, renovated it, moved in, did tons of great ministry, got settled in town, and had baby number 2 all within three short months.

This year has been great in Youth Ministry as well. This year has been about connecting with the teenagers, sharing my life with them, develop more leaders, and helping develop a youth ministry that will connect students with Christ. A new discipleship program has started, great trips, mission projects, and countless events have happened – but more than anything – students have met Christ and grown in their walk with the Lord.

Though it was a hard transition to make and we miss the people of First Baptist Lancaster, we are grateful to be in Spartanburg doing God’s will here. We love you Morningside and look forward to many more great years in ministry together. Thank you teenagers for the scrapbook for my one year anniversary. It means more to me than you could ever know. It helps me remember all the wonderful things God has done in our lives this year. God bless you – I love being your Youth Pastor!

This past Saturday night was great. With nearly 400 people attending and with over $3000 raised, the Valentines Dinner was a great success! Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers who made it happen. Our decoration and food teams did a wonderful job. All of our singing groups and instrumentalist were awesome. The “love stories band” did a great job too. I was very impressed also with how hard our students worked at serving the tables and more importantly how they stayed late cleaning up and truly took the role of servants. Thank you! Happy Valentines Day and never forget the depth of love our Heavenly Father has for us.